Almost
by monsoon10
Summary: I always knew he was looking out for me, even if he didn't come right out and say it. Fred/OC


**This was a request on Quizilla for 1Darkmoon1. Just thought I'd share it with you guys.**

**First Potter one-shot.**

**I obviously do not own Harry Potter.**

**If I did, I would be writing a series about the Marauders.**

**Review, or Fred will sneak a bomb under your pillow.**

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I sat down on my bed gingerly, trying my hardest not to make a sound. The blackness of night clouded my vision as I laid my head down on the soft pillow, not bothering to change out of my Hufflepuff uniform. My cloak was the only thing that kept me warm as I stretched my legs down the length of the mattress. My blanket had been stolen. Again.

I heard soft giggles erupt around the room as I slowly reached my hand up to pull the curtains that would usually be cascading around my bedpost. They weren't there. Not surprising. I sighed and held back tears as I turned on my side, so that I faced a rough, grey bricked wall. I closed my eyes tight, and tried to think of happier times.

My mother had always told me, that even in the worst times, there was always someone out there who had it much worse than you. Sometimes, I wondered if that was a lie.

My name was Luna, I was a Hufflepuff, and I hated living at Hogwarts.

Everyday, I was tortured endlessly, mostly by the other female Hogwarts students. They'd laugh and snort at my clothes, which were way too small for me by my sixth year. My mother never had the money to buy me new robes, nor did she have the time to even think about it. It didn't help that I was an only child, so there were no hand-me-downs for me.

I constantly got comments on my eyes, which were a catty, yellow color. I was beginning to be called 'kitten' by some of the older students, which led to them patting my head and pinching my freckled cheeks.

To make maters worse, I was kind of short for my age, and pretty skinny. I always looked younger than I really was, and when fellow sixth years met me, their eyes would go wide and they'd ask if I were actually a third year, and if I'd skipped a few grades, if I was a genius.

When they heard the word "no" pass by my powdery lips, they'd either look scared, as if I were some Potions experiment gone wrong, or they'd smirk.

And within the next hour or so, those who smirked would be stalking me in the halls, tripping me, "accidentally" knocking my books out my hands, so that they were trampled by countless, dirty shoes. I'd lost track of the number of foot prints on my Divination book.

But what really upset me was the fact that I couldn't tell them to stop. I couldn't make them go away. I'd just sit there, letting hundreds of mouths spit insults at me until they got bored and moved on to their next victim. Why couldn't I stand up for myself?

Was I really that weak?

I felt a slight breeze blow through the large window of the girl's dormitory. The cold made my skin tremble, and my hair stuck out. It was just my luck that I'd be stuck with the bed right next to the window.

As the draft grew stronger, I could feel the cold air slipping in between locks of my hair, lifting the chocolate brown strands gently.

If I closed my eyes tight enough, I could almost imagine that it were his fingers, pulling through my hair, stroking my back, holding me tight. I could almost see those soft, yet mischievous eyes staring into mine, glinting. I could almost feel that renown smirk pressing softly onto my own mouth, making me gasp. I could almost imagine Fred Weasley pulling me into a kiss.

But almost wasn't good enough.

Fred was the only one that never really made fun of me. Once in awhile he'd join his brother, George, in teasing me a bit, but it was never anything severe. He'd distract the crowd while I ran to hide in a corner, away from the rest of the world. He'd prank anyone who went too far. He never said he pranked them specifically for me, but I knew.

I felt that familiar, sad feeling rise in my chest as I realized, once again, that I'd never be with him.

He was Fred. Popular, funny, attractive, smart, outgoing.

I was Luna. Weak, stupid, ugly, shy, little Luna.

At the same time, I let myself wonder if there was a possibility.

I was about to let myself drift off into the usual blank dream, when a small explosion sounded and echoed in the cluttered room. Every girl shot up, looking around dazedly, most of them with bird's nests on their heads.

One girl, however, looked like she had come face-to-face with a chimney top.

Elli's long, golden hair was now singed at the ends and at the roots. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide, and her entire face seemed to be covered in ash. She reached into the drawer of her nightstand, and pulled out a mirror. She desperately tried to rub off the coal black soot that hid her pale skin, but the soot didn't even rub off onto her fingers. It was permanent.

Elli puffed out her cheeks as tears ran down her face. Several girls held in laughter as billows of smoke puffed out of the seventh year girl's ears. Elli ran to the closet, apparently locking herself inside, too embarrassed by her appearance.

I smiled for the first time that day. Elli had been practically killing me earlier. Her boyfriend has just broken up with her, and she needed someone to take her anger out on. I was the prime target, of course.

Well, that's karma, I thought to myself. I was about to lay back down, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of white flutter to the ground, next to Elli's bed. No one else seemed to notice.

Once everyone else was fast asleep, I darted across the vast room, snatched the white material, and lunged back into bed. I'd be tripped if one of the girls saw me walking around this late at night.

I took a deep breath, and stared at what was in my shaking hands. A white piece of paper, slightly crinkled at the edges, covered only part of my palm. The words, "You are beautiful" were etched into the paper with black ink. It only took me a second to recognize the sloppy handwriting.

My heart skipped at least three beats as I read the words over and over again. Had Fred done this? Of course he had written the note. But I wondered if it was him that had pranked Elli, and how he could have gotten into the girl's dormitory, the Hufflepuff girl's dormitory, on top of that. Then again, who else could have done it?

I slipped the paper under my pillow, praying no one would snatch it while I was sleeping. As usual, Fred hadn't come right out and said it, but I knew he was looking out for me. It couldn't have been a coincidence that he just so happened to prank Elli that night, that I was the only one to see the note.

I laid my head down for the last time that night, a smile still toying with my lips. I wrapped my arms around myself, and if I closed my eyes tight enough, I could almost imagine that they were Fred's arms, cradling me and telling me to stay strong.


End file.
